My Favorite Recipes By Dee Bryson: Meet Alyssa Parkins

Jesse and Alyssa Parkins of Garfield with daughters Ayla and Ellie.

Alyssa Parkins was born and raised in Garfield. She has fond memories of childhood, including meeting her husband. Alyssa is married to Jesse Parkins. Jesse was born in Fort Collins, Colo., and grew up in Ault, Colo. Jesse’s family moved to the area and Jesse attended Garfield/Palouse schools beginning with the eighth grade. Alyssa and Jesse will celebrate their third anniversary this year. They are the proud parents of two little girls, Ellie and Ayla.

Alyssa stated that when she was younger, she looked forward to a time that she would leave Garfield and move somewhere else. Alyssa briefly moved across the state line and lived in Viola, but that did not last for long before she found her way back home.

After finding out that they were expecting their first child, she and Jesse agreed that the only place they wanted their children to grow up was the same small town that they had both enjoyed. They packed up and headed back to Garfield. Both Alyssa and Jesse are grateful to be close to their families and look forward to raising the girls in the community.

Alyssa is an active stay-at-home mom who is juggling babies, puppies and life in general. Alyssa studied at Mr. Leon’s School of Hair Design and has carried some of her passion for cosmetology into her current career. In addition to all the demands of motherhood, Alyssa also runs her own small business. She is an independent SeneGence representative.

Alyssa delights in getting out into the community and having the opportunity to meet other women and assist them with their cosmetic needs. Jesse recently became self-employed and is the owner of Palouse Hills Excavator. Together they are very involved with raising their family and growing their businesses.

Alyssa commented that if she were to be completely honest and choose her favorite recipe in this stage of life, it would be a Red Baron Pizza. She loves the simplicity of opening it up and throwing it into the oven.

Keeping up with all of her responsibilities doesn’t leave a lot of time for cooking, but she does take pleasure in preparing a super easy, fast to prepare, pot roast that her family loves. She said she also chose a breakfast casserole recipe because it includes everything she adores about breakfast without all of the dishes to clean up. The casserole makes enough to feed the family numerous meals, which is critical at this point in her life. It is a busy life for the young family and while they may be short on time, sleep and sometimes energy, they have plenty to be thankful for.

Recipes

Alyssa’s Fast and Easy Pot Roast

Recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com

1 (four pound) beef chuck roast

1/4 cup butter

5 Pepperoncini peppers

1 (1 oz.) packet ranch dressing mix

1 (1 oz.) packet dry au jus mix

Place roast in a slow cooker. Form a pocket in the top of the roast and place butter, pepperoncini peppers, ranch dressing mix and au jus mix in the pocket.

Cook on low for eight hours.

The Everything You Adore About Breakfast Casserole

Adapted from Scattered Thoughts

of a Crafty Mom

12 ounces buttermilk biscuit dough (we use Grands, which are slightly bigger)

6 eggs

1 (2-3/4 oz.) package peppered gravy mix (makes 2 cups)

1 lb. sausage, any flavor

1 cup cheese, shredded

1/2 cup milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13x9 pan. Brown sausage in skillet and drain thoroughly. Cut biscuit dough into one inch pieces and line the bottom of the pan with them. Layer the cooked sausage over the biscuit pieces. Layer shredded cheese over sausage. Whisk eggs and milk, add salt and pepper and pour over biscuit/sausage layer. Make gravy according to instructions and pour over everything. Bake 30-45 minutes. Serve warm.